A Little Hope
by InsanityIsClarity
Summary: Raven is transported by spell into a forest in an alternate dimension, with the only sign of life being a fire in the distance. "I bet your father loves you. I bet your father isn't trying to take over the world." "I stopped him from doing that last week."


**AN: Hey everybody! It's InsanityIsClarity here with her first Avatar: the Last Airbender fanfic, her first Teen Titans fanfic, and her first crossover fanfic. YAY ME! Enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender or Teen Titans.**

Raven threw the last item from the list onto the pile. She was ready. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she recited, thrusting her hands and spewing her black magic towards the pile of mystical items.

Ever since she defeated her father last week, Raven wanted more than ever to help other people. And the spell she just used was supposed to create a portal to the person she could help the most, whether in her dimension or another.

The spell worked, as _Spells for Everyone, Even You_, Raven's favorite and most trusted spell book, was rarely wrong. A black portal appeared on the floor of Raven's bedroom, and without hesitation, she stepped inside. Raven, however, was not as underprepared as Beastboy was most of the time, and had a messenger bag with the ingredients for a return portal as well as some survival gear hanging from her shoulder.

It felt like she was falling for ages, but soon the black void (the black being the same color as Raven's magic, and yes, there are multiple shades of black) came to an end, and Raven found herself on the ground, looking up at dark green trees and a dark blue sky. She looked about her. The only light she could see was coming from a fire a ways away.

Fire! That meant a person had to be here. And that person was probably the one Raven needed to help. Raven started running through the forest in the direction of the light. She was halfway there when she started to pick up on some emotions. Self-hate was the most prominent emotion, followed by guilt, and pain. Whoever it was had some deep emotional issues.

"WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD?" a male voice, probably belonging to someone no older than Cyborg, shouted. Raven could barely hear the shout, she had probably just gotten into hearing distance of the person. She started flying toward the noise, speeding up the journey.

* * *

Zuko had been lying in the same spot for ten minutes, watching the stars, too tired to get up and not wanting to disturb his possibly broken ribs. He had really messed up this time- but then, what was new? The avatar had given him his trust after rescuing him from Zhao when Zuko was the blue spirit. And what did he do when the avatar offered his friendship? He attacked him. The water tribe girl had given him his trust under Ba Sing Se, even offering to remove her scar, and what did Zuko do? He helped his sister attack both her and the avatar.

Then the earthbending girl, even though no one else would, gave him her trust by coming to talk to him in the middle of the night, alone, and what did he do? He attacked her as well, even burning her. He had messed up once again, and had probably blown his last shot at ever joining their group. He had burnt a child. A child now having to crawl back to her friends on her hands and knees. He felt horrible.

The rustling of leaves, a rustling too fast to be natural, snapped Zuko out of his thoughts. Clutching his ribs with his right hand, he sat up. He held out his left hand in front of him, able to attack if necessary, but much more hesitant to do so than the previous time.

He was not expecting what he saw when the flying figure landed in front of him. What he saw was a girl, with purple hair, and a blue cloak. Not water tribe clothes, that was for sure, and not the clothes of any other nation either. Who was she? What was she?

When Raven reached the small camp, she was not expecting to see a teenager who looked to be younger than her, if only slightly, to be the source of all the emotions she had felt.

"W-who are you?" asked the boy, gritting his teeth in pain. Raven looked down to see his hand hugging his torso. He probably had a few broken ribs, Raven guessed. She also noticed his attire. _Okay_, she thought, _I am most definitely in another dimension. I should probably not talk too much about myself. Wouldn't want him to think I'm crazy._

"Well, I'm Raven. Believe it or not, I'm from another dimension." There really was no other way she would be able to explain herself without telling him that, she figured.

The boy just stared at her.

"I used a spell to come here, wherever here is, and now I'm here. So…" Raven paused awkwardly, "What's your name?"

* * *

Zuko stared at the girl, er Raven, as she called herself. He had never heard of someone having the name Raven before, but this girl had just claimed to be from another dimension, so he figured that her having a strange name made sense. It also explained the strange appearance. And the fact that she had claimed to use a spell. She was either from another dimension, or crazy.

Trying to stall for time to figure out what to do, and not wanting to attack another person tonight, he answered. "I'm Zuko."

"That's nice," Raven deadpanned. The way she held almost no emotion in her voice reminded Zuko of Mai, and his heart clenched a little. "So…" Raven continued, "I've got some survival supplies in my bag, if you want me to fix those ribs," she offered, pointing at his torso.

Not wanting this strange girl to get any closer to him, Zuko shook his head no, claiming that "I'm fine, but thanks."

Raven sighed. "Look, I'm an empath. Which means, if people around me are in pain, I can feel that pain. Emotional and physical. And you are definitely not fine." She took a roll of gauze out of her bag, and took a step towards Zuko.

She was definitely crazy. "Stay back!" Zuko warned, his left hand still ready to attack.

* * *

Raven was getting annoyed. Why did this kid have to be so difficult?

"Look, you need help. Let me help you." Raven took another step forward.

Suddenly there was a wave of fire flying towards Raven. She saw Zuko's eyes widen, almost as if he didn't want her to be hurt.

Just as the fire was about to reach her, she threw her own hands up. A black shield was formed in front of her, and the fire crashed into it, keeping her unscathed. Once the fire had dissipated, she looked at the shocked and scared teen staring at her.

Raven knew the boy probably thought she was crazy. But it was clear that he had never seen dark magic before, so maybe he believed his interdimensional story now. "Like I said, I'm not from around here. Do you want my help now?"

All Zuko could do was nod, too frightened to really do anything else. At least he knew she wasn't crazy now. He lowered his hand, letting her know that she could come forward without being attacked.

Raven picked up her gauze again and walked toward Zuko, glad that he trusted her, in a manner of speaking. After asking him to take off his shirt, she wrapped up his ribs, and he put his shirt back on.

Once she was done, she asked the question she had been originally wanting to ask. "I told you I was an empath, that I could feel other's pain and emotions. Would you like to tell me why the only emotions I feel from you are negative ones?"

Zuko scowled. What right did this Raven have to barge in and ask him personal questions like this? "No, I would not like to tell you."

Now it was Raven's turn to scowl. "It wasn't a suggestion."

Looking at Raven's annoyed eyes, and remembering what she had done earlier, he complied. "In summary, I need to help people do something, but they don't trust me, and rightfully so, because of tons of past mistakes I've made. You probably wouldn't understand." He sighed.

"Understand what?" Raven demanded, "Trust me, I'd understand more than you'd think."

"My father is trying to take over the entire world, and succeeding. The only hope for the world lies in a person I spent years trying to find and capture, looking for my father's approval. Only recently did I realize that my father's approval is not something I should've been wanting. Pretty much, I attacked my father, and ran away to join the person I was trying to capture and try to help him fulfill his destiny of taking down my father. So yea, I doubt you could relate to me. I bet your father loves you. I bet your father isn't trying to take over the world." Zuko said the last part bitterly, jealous at the idea of Raven having a good father while he couldn't.

After his monologue, the last thing Zuko expected to happen happened.

Raven laughed. "Me…" she laughed, "Having a good father, haha!" Seeing Zuko's confused look, she elaborated. "You're right, Zuko. My father isn't trying to take over the world. I stopped him from doing that last week. Well, in my world that is." Zuko's confused look just got more confused. "My father was a demon, bent on making everyone turn to stone and taking over the galaxy. The best part? I got to be the portal that brought him from his prison to my world. Yup, it was definitely not fun. But with the help of my friends, and a little hope, I took him down. For good. And now I don't even think of him as my father anymore."

Zuko stared once more at the strange girl, who had become somber once more. He wasn't entirely sure whether or not to believe her story, but since he couldn't think of a motive for her to lie to him, he decided to trust her.

"You killed your own father?" Zuko asked, incredulous. He wanted his own father dead, but the thought of someone else killing their parent was a bit crazy. Even to him.

"Not killed per se," Raven said. "More like disintegrated him in a white light. And honestly, I don't really care. Like I told him before I did it, he was not my father, not my family. My friends are my family. And from what I've heard about your father, he doesn't deserve that title either. Contrary to popular belief, we aren't born into a family. We chose our real family, whether it's the one we're born into or not. You chose who your family is, Zuko."

Zuko looked at her, a small smile on his face. The thought of Ozai not having to be his real family was heartening. But then, Ozai was never his real family. His uncle Iroh was…

Zuko frowned again. "But what if I hurt my real family? What if I betrayed them? What do I do then?"

Hearing the word betrayed, Raven remembered Terra. She remembered how Terra betrayed all of her and her friends trust. Then she remembered how Terra, in the end, sacrificed herself to save them.

"If you betray your family, there is only one thing to do. Apologize. Then make it up to them. And then don't betray them again. It might take some time, but trust me, actions speak louder than words. You'll get their trust back, I promise."

"Thanks," Zuko said, smiling. Raven had given him hope- he wasn't the only one who has gone through the problems he was having. And if Raven had made it out alive, he figured he could too.

Raven felt the hope in Zuko. There was still the self-hate and the guilt, but now there was also the hope that he could fix the mess he had made. Raven's job was done.

"Well, I gotta go," she said, standing up and picking up her bag. "Remember what I told you. And don't give up."

"Thanks again," Zuko repeated.

"Bye, Zuko," Raven waved, starting to walk into the forest. She didn't want Zuko to see the portal.

"Bye, Raven," Zuko responded, standing up himself and walking over to his tent to sleep.

_Tomorrow_, he vowed as he drifted off to sleep, _I begin to repair the damage I've caused._

**AN: Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review! **


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